Panel Investigates Child Labor in the Chocolate Industry

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and Americans eat more than 50 million pounds of chocolate to celebrate. But according to the U.S. Department of State, more than 100,000 children are enslaved working in the cocoa industry. On Feb. 8, a group of students, faculty and experts gathered at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport to discuss the issue of child labor in the international cocoa industry.

Filmmaker Robin Romano joined the program via Skype. “Cocoa is to the Ivory Coast as the Ivory Coast is to cocoa,” Romano said following the screening of his film. He later shared that the Ivory Coast is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a human rights treaty advocating for children’s rights.

Rodriguez said she was saddened to know that children are forced to labor in the cocoa industry without access to adequate food, medical care, or even school.

Justice Moore said that he found not knowing even more disturbing.

In 2001, there was a force to implement legislation to give some teeth to the movement to stop child labor, Nagle said. Now a decade later, the issue remains. “Who will hold corporations accountable for enforcing the rights of the child?” Professor Nagle asked the panel.

The panel concluded with many questions. “Could we make it good business not to buy cocoa beans from companies using child labor?” Robb asked.

On one point, Professor Nagle was certain. “We all need to be involved,” she said.

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and Americans eat more than 50 million pounds of chocolate to celebrate. But according to the U.S. Department of State, more than 100,000 children are enslaved working in the cocoa industry. On Feb. 8, a group of students, faculty and experts gathered at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport to discuss the issue of child labor in the international cocoa industry.

Filmmaker Robin Romano joined the program via Skype. “Cocoa is to the Ivory Coast as the Ivory Coast is to cocoa,” Romano said following the screening of his film. He later shared that the Ivory Coast is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a human rights treaty advocating for children’s rights.

Rodriguez said she was saddened to know that children are forced to labor in the cocoa industry without access to adequate food, medical care, or even school.

Justice Moore said that he found not knowing even more disturbing.

In 2001, there was a force to implement legislation to give some teeth to the movement to stop child labor, Nagle said. Now a decade later, the issue remains. “Who will hold corporations accountable for enforcing the rights of the child?” Professor Nagle asked the panel.

The panel concluded with many questions. “Could we make it good business not to buy cocoa beans from companies using child labor?” Robb asked.

On one point, Professor Nagle was certain. “We all need to be involved,” she said.

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Stetson University College of Law is Florida’s first law school. It has educated lawyers for more than a century. The law school is located in the Gulfport/St. Petersburg area with a satellite campus in downtown Tampa. Stetson University’s historic campus, founded in 1883 in DeLand, is home to the College of Arts & Sciences, School of Business Administration and School of Music, and has a satellite center in Celebration offering advanced degrees.